Episode 71 (16th August 1961)
Plot Annie feels very uncomfortable in an ill-fitting new corset she's bought. Walter calls into the Rovers having visited a client on Rosamund Street. He tries to interest Annie in his firm's business for Concepta when he hears that she's getting married. Annie confesses that she has an elocution book, but she's given up on it. Ivan covers for the Walkers behind the bar as they are going to see the Royal Oak. Walter tells him that he and Elsie are going through a bad patch at the moment and he realised he has to back out of the shop venture. He cons Ivan into breaking the bad news to Elsie. Dennis asks for No.11's order to be put on the slate, causing Florrie to break down after he's gone. Albert comes in and comforts her. She tells him she could pay her bills if her customers settled their accounts. He suggests getting in a debt collector when she rejects his ideas of posting the outstanding payers' names in the shop window. Val does Nancy's hair. At her suggestion, she starts on Ken's too. He asks her to go to a concert in Manchester tomorrow and she agrees. Mr Lloyd shows the Walkers round the Royal Oak. Annie questions him about some of the faults she's found. She's horrified when she tries a tape recorder in the pub and hears her own voice played back, making her regret not following up on the elocution lessons. An excited Frank rushes into No.3 to break the news that supervisor Norman Chadwick is leaving the GPO and he's been offered his job. He wants them to go on holiday and also for Ida to give up work, but she's unhappy at the suggestion. Ken opens a letter saying he's been put on the short list for the Surrey job. Ida dreads the house being quiet with both boys absent. Back home, Jack tells Len and Alf that he's not convinced the new pub will drum up enough trade, but he's concerned more about what Annie thinks. Paul has convulsions causing Linda to shout for Ivan to fetch Elsie. Frank thinks there's nothing to keep Ken in the area, while at that moment his son is enjoying the Tchaikovsky concert with Val. Cast Regular cast *Annie Walker - Doris Speed *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson *Alf Roberts - Bryan Mosley *Linda Cheveski - Anne Cunningham *Ivan Cheveski - Ernst Walder *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth *Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie *Ida Barlow - Noel Dyson *Valerie Tatlock - Anne Reid *Frank Barlow - Frank Pemberton *Kenneth Barlow - William Roache Guest cast *Mr Lloyd - Lewis Wilson *Walter Fletcher - Donald Morley *Nancy Leathers - Norah Hammond Places *Rovers Return Inn - Public *3 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway *9 Coronation Street - Back room/kitchen and bedroom *Corner Shop *Royal Oak, Sharringley - Lounge bar and passageway *Concert hall Notes *Annie Walker tells Mr Lloyd she was "born and bred" in the pub business which contradicts some of her later-established Beaumont family history. *''TV Times: The warm, human story of a street full of ordinary people; their hopes and their dreams; their laughter and their tears ''(This generic synopsis did not appear in all regional editions) *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 5,741,000 homes (2nd place). Episode 071